My students are in their intermediate school years (ages 8-10). I teach full time gifted 4th graders this year, last year I taught a 4/5 split gifted class and previous years in gifted have been either 4th or 5th grades. Before teaching gifted, I taught 3rd for 10 years. As Intermediate students, they are beginning to evaluate the reactions of others. As their teacher it is important for me to gain their respect and to do this I try hard to stay in touch with their interests and be as knowledgeable as possible in the areas I am teaching. I always let them know if I do not know the answer to their questions and together we research it.
From grades 3rd through 5th, children are developing new friendships, participating in more school activities, and feeling the effects of competition and self-concept issues that can affect their emotional development for years to come. The gifted child has their own unique problems as well as gifts. They are often able to read well above their age level. This sometimes have them coming across literature and information they may not be emotionally able to handle. It is important to keep parents involved as students face these challenges. Some gifted children have trouble relating to their peers, so guidance counselors are usually involved in the curriculum.
When developing a literature based lesson or unit plan it is important to consider students backgrounds, gifted characteristics, interests, required standards for the grade being taught and of course, their reading levels. For example most gifted students are reading 2 to 3 years above their peers (6th to 7th grade levels in 4th grade!). It is imperative that the literature is challenging enough but appropriate at the same time.
My school has trained our teachers on Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences so another way I prepare for all future units is by giving a variety of multiple intelligence tests to all of my students so I know (and they love to find out) what are their strengths. This allows me to add a variety of activities to help students learn the required material.
To motivate students I try to find books I know they will enjoy. I usually select a read aloud and once they are into the first few chapters I introduce the new unit. As a Reading Renaissance school, we have a school-wide program that has motivation activities built in that is highly successful. Students are invited to a quarterly celebration if they reach their reading goals set for them by their teachers (a complicated criteria is developed by the program, student needs and teacher input). They have weekly goals that if met, are rewarded by the end of the week and then the big school-wide party at the end of each quarter. I have found that students are less successful if they are unable to choose most of their own books. To help with this, they are given a reading level range in which to read in and are asked to read specific genres each quarter. This allows students to select their own books but be monitored at the same time. For this age group it works extremely well because they have some control over what they read. The younger grades need more guidance and controls are in place to help them at their developmental stage.
The books I have found successful as motivational tools change by what is popular each year. I try to stay current with what interest students from year to year. It is important to steer away from controversial books, allowing students to read them on their own, but not use them as guided reading or read alouds. For example, the Harry Potter Series or Twilight has been extremely popular among my students. They may select them on their own as fantasy genre requirements, but they are not used for read alouds. If I am doing a unit of study like The Underground Railroad, I will start out with a book that is fast pace, but full of interesting historical facts. One such read aloud I use is The Story of Harriet Tubman: Freedom Train by Dorothy Sterling. Another example is when teaching a unit on mysteries we began by viewing the Metropolitan Museum online and then read From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg. In this realistic fiction story children run away and hide in the Metropolitan Museum. We celebrate the end of the unit by having each student select a piece of art work from the museum and reproduce it. The students also write their own mystery story and publish it and finally, we invite parents, other classes, the principal, etc. in to view their artwork and published mystery book.
I am looking forward to hearing some great ideas. The Metropolitan Museum mystery unit was shared by a co-teacher at my school so I can not take credit for it. I love sharing great ideas! It helps everyone involved, but most of all it helps the students.
